The Gut Microbiome

Catalog description

The gut microbiome is increasingly being recognized as critical to our health, but what is it? We host as many microbes in our gut as there are human cells in our body and the metabolic capabilities of these microbes vastly exceeds what is encoded by the human genome. These microbes influence everything from the digestion of our food to our metabolism to our immune system to perhaps even our mood. Learning about these microbes and the role they play in the human body is a necessary part of understanding many diseases as well as how to maintain health. In this General Education, Health and Wellness course we will explore all the way that the gut microbiome influences us and our health as well as how we influence it with our diet and lifestyle choices.